Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 62,137 Shares of Gentex Corporation $GNTX

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Gentex Corporation by 4.0%, acquiring an additional 62,137 shares to hold a total of approximately 1,622,237 shares valued at $37.8 million.
• Gentex reported earnings of $0.47 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.39 by $0.08, and a revenue of $657.86 million, up 14.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend of $0.48 and a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,622,237 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,137 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.72% of Gentex worth $37,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gentex by 85.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,222 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Gentex by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 54,440 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Gentex by 1.0% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 63,700 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,484,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gentex by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,641 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Gentex by 1.3% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 51,873 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GNTX shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Gentex from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $25.00 price target on Gentex in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gentex from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Gentex from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.63.

Gentex Price Performance

Shares of GNTX traded up $0.6640 on Friday, hitting $28.0740. The company's stock had a trading volume of 758,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,303,052. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.82. Gentex Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.28 and a fifty-two week high of $31.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.45.

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.08. Gentex had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Gentex has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gentex Corporation will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Gentex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Gentex's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Gentex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 16th that permits the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Gentex Profile

Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection products in the United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, and internationally. It operates through Automotive Products and Other segments. The company offers automotive products, including interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, automotive electronics, and non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors for automotive passenger cars, light trucks, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans for original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and various aftermarket and accessory customers.